Stephen's Eye
by kevin the bird
Summary: "What's the matter, sweetie?" She asked as she squatted down so she was the same height as Stephen. He was avoiding her and she wasn't sure why. Without hesitation, Kitty cupped Stephen's chin and moved his head so he was looking at her. What she saw when he finally looked at her shocked her. Who would hit a six-year-old?


For the most part, Hyde's mom brought home decent men. They usually left him alone and left the next morning without a problem. But the one she had brought home that night was terrible. He was an angry drunk. An angry drunk that took out his anger on the wrong person.

Hyde's mother didn't know what Henry had done to him. He didn't allow her to because he wanted to get out before she saw the growing black eye he was sporting. He made his way outside and just walked. Before he knew it, he was standing in the Foreman's drive way. He didn't remember deciding that's where he was going to go, but he had been there so many times that it was just a habit for him to walk there.

For a few seconds he thought about going back, but he wasn't ready to face his mother so he walked to the sliding back door that lead into the kitchen of the Foreman's house. The first thing Hyde noticed was Kitty making dinner for her family. He slid it open and tried his best to cover his face.

Hearing the door open, Kitty looked over and spotted the six-year-old walking into her house.

"Hello, Stephen," she said, immediately recognizing his curly hair. "Are you hungry?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Thank you, Mrs. Foreman," Stephen said as he walked by the maternal figure, still not making eye contact with the older woman. Kitty noticed this and grabbed his wrist before he could get much farther.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" She asked as she squatted down so she was the same height as Stephen. He was avoiding her and she wasn't sure why. Without hesitation, Kitty cupped Stephen's chin and moved his head so he was looking at her. What she saw when he finally looked at her shocked her. Who would hit a six-year-old? What could an innocent, sweet boy like Stephen do to provoke someone to hit him?

"Stephen, honey," she said softly as she brought her other hand up and brushed a strand of hair off his forehead. "Who did this to you?" Stephen diverted his eyes away from the woman who had been so maternal to him, embarrassed about what had happened. Kitty's heart broke as she watched Stephen look away from her. She then picked him up and stood up, setting him down on the counter so he was sitting down next to the stove. She started scurrying around the kitchen and got an ice pack so the swelling that was already forming around Stephen's eye would go down.

"Put this on your eye, sweetheart," she said as she handed the ice pack to the boy and picked him back up, placing him on her hip.

"Where are we going?" Stephen asked as he did what he was told. Kitty had started walking and made it through the revolving door when she spotted the person she was looking for, her husband. He looked up from the TV when he heard Kitty walk into the room.

"Why does he have an ice pack over his eye?" Red asked as his wife determinedly walked over to him.

"See for yourself," Kitty responded when she was standing next to the couch and softly took the ice pack from Stephen's grip, placing it on the side table. Red's eyes widened when he noticed the black eye the young boy who had befriended his son sported. He stood up and took a better look. Stephen flinched at the sudden movement that Red had made. Even though he had known Red for awhile, he was still scary and in the wake of what had just happened, Stephen was worried it would happen again.

"It's okay, sweetie," Kitty said softly as she rubbed Hyde's back soothingly. "Red won't hurt you," she added in a maternal voice. Stephen cuddled closer into Kitty's warm embrace. He had managed to not cry so far, but being held by someone as maternal as Kitty, it was starting to become hard. Red couldn't - wouldn't - stand for child abuse. Just looking at how scared Stephen was made him angry.

"Who did this to you, Stephen?" He asked, trying not to sound angry for the young boy's sake.

"I don't know who he is," Stephen replied as he grabbed the back of Kitty's shirt tightly when he wrapped his arm around her neck. Tears started to brim his eye lids and Kitty kissed the temple of his head.

"It's okay, sweetie," she said as she looked at Red, completely heartbroken. "We'll figure it out," she added as she looked at Red and silently told him to stop. He nodded his head in agreement, still furious. If it hadn't been for his wife, he would still be trying to figure out who hit Stephen. "Now, lets go change you into something more comfortable," she said, changing the subject. She noticed how small his clothes where and how dirty they where and she wouldn't allow that She knew he wouldn't fit into any of Eric's clothes so she walked right into the room she shared with her husband and placed Stephen on her bed. She walked to Red's drawer and opened it, taking out the first shirt she could find, which happened to be a flannel button up shirt. She walked back to Stephen and sat down next to him. She took his shirt off and placed his small arms in the over sized sleeve holes of Red's shirt. She buttoned up the shirt and smiled at the young boy.

"That's much better, isn't it?" Kitty asked as she once again cupped Stephen's chin. He smiled at her sadly as she rubbed his cheek with her thumb. "Do you want a cookie, honey?" She asked and immediately got a nod of agreement. She smiled and picked him up, placing him on her hip again. He rested his head on her shoulder comfortably as they made their way downstairs. Once they made it downstairs, Kitty walked into the kitchen and handed Stephen a cookie. He thanked her and slowly ate it. Kitty kissed Stephen's temple and set him down on the ground. He didn't venture far from Kitty as she went about finishing dinner, staying at her side closely. Before long, he let his hand wonder into hers. She smiled when she felt his small hand in hers and allowed him to hold it for the rest of the night.


End file.
